GOOGLE’S LANDMARK MOVE

The “right to be forgotten” is valued as a landmark decision of the European Union’s Court of Justice (ECJ). In brief, it allows the removal of names, information from search results which plaintiffs find to be ‘inadequate’ or ‘irrelevant’. Despite the wishy-washy character of the wording which could mean all or nothing to be removed, dependent on the subjective assessment of a court, it is a dangerous sentence in regard to the freedom of information, science, historical facts. At worst, genocides could disappear from the landscape of information under political influence.

A Landmark Move
Given these uncertainties, Google’s move to appeal France’s highness court has a landmark character itself, demanding clarity in the swampy thicket of wording. Until now, no notable European organisation sued in regard to this questionable sentence. Google shows balls in a situation where European authorities in Brussels have decided this company be their prior target in their conflict with the “American Internet Giants”, claiming monopoly issues.

The Alternative
The European Union’s Court of Justice decision should simply be removed, “forgotten”. This is the 21st century, the politics of suppressing information should be past history. Of course, deliberately false information have to be removed, which is not a matter of a nebulous “right to be forgotten”. All disputed information should not be removed as long as they are based on verifiable facts. The involved participants should have the right instead to add their views to the scrutinized information in comments, statements which clarify their position.